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US$189 AKiTiO Thunder2 PCIe Box (16Gbps-TB2)


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US$200+shipping AKiTiO Thunder2 for DIY eGPU users from [email protected]

@Everyone, I've negotiated a special deal for our group. US$200/unit plus shipping AKiTiO Thunder2 purchased via [email protected]

- Mention in your email that you are a DIY eGPU user

- This will be a very good deal for US buyers

- Asian customers will have their shipped from AKiTiO's Taiwan office and that should lower the shipping costs quite a bit.

- European customers will probably be better off getting theirs from a local AKiTiO resellers due to high duty and shipping costs. eg: €169 mag.de, €249 macway.com (fr)

That's so unfortunate that I've just bought it from an eBay store a little more than a week ago. If this discount came sooner, I could have it shipped directly to Vietnam :(

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Hello, everyone. I've been following this thread almost since the beginning, and I'd like to simply thank all for their contributions and for making the concept accessible to many :)

Now that I arrived in the US, I may finally join the owners of this solution.

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Can't test right now, because the card is currently in the mail to be replaced with another card (same model/brand).

Your problems with the OC are strange, because that is not a big OC itself. The power target shouldn't affect this situation, it should just limit the amount of times the boost can be achived (lower the boost if limited by the power target). Most of the times I will instantly increase the power target to get a stable boost.

When my exchanged card returns I will do futher testing.

Thanks for the input.

My claims regarding underclocking the core is false, I get VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE in just a few minutes of running Metro: Last light. There is only one option left: RMA. :(

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@Tech Inferno Fan - Yeah, its a bummer that I can't get the Optimus to work. After reading through some of the posts I haven't seen anybody been able to get it to work. For my current work flow I'm using the output to drive the Oculus which acts as an external monitor. When I travel between work and home I have an extra monitor at each location. It's not ideal, but it is working.

I guess there would need to be some type of way to disable to the 750M and only run on the Intel chip and the GTX980. However, I don't even see the Intel chip in the display adapters list. Maybe I could try to do some experimenting later on.

- - - Updated - - -

@Morty - I forgot my cell phone today, so I can try to post something tomorrow. However, I just followed this guide: http://forum.techinferno.com/implementation-guides/7580-%5Bguide%5D-2014-15-macbook-pro-iris-gtx780%4016gbps-tb2-akitio-thunder2-win8-1-a.html#post103029 You can see how he has it setup in one of the photos. All I had to do was take apart a molex to SATA connector. Removed the red & black cables. Then bought a 2.5" barrel plug from Radio Shack. Soldered it together, measured the voltage to make sure it was correct, and it worked perfect.

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@Sachin10 - Yeah the GTX 980 is 10.5" long so that might not work. Looks like a nice case, though. I think I'm going to try do design something and add some extra port holes for fans. When doing some of the benchmark scores the card got pretty damn hot. So I would probably pick an enclosure with some good ventilation.

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My claims regarding underclocking the core is false, I get VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE in just a few minutes of running Metro: Last light. There is only one option left: RMA. :(

Are you running this off of the 220W DA-2 PSU? If so, have you tried using a higher wattage ATX PSU?

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Most mini-ITX cases are quite big and ugly but I like the Silverstone Fortress FT03-MINI. It doesn't have a large footprint and I realy like the aluminium enclosure. I want to put in on my small desk table in the living room next to my 13 rMBP.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]12751[/ATTACH] or [ATTACH=CONFIG]12752[/ATTACH]

Normally they recommend the reference coolers for graphics cards to blow out the hot air and a SFX power supply. But without a CPU you might be able to use other graphics cards and larger power supplies. But the card length is limited to 10" so some GTX 970 cards will work but I think most GTX 980 cards are too long.

This is my current wishlist:

* EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked (04G-P4-1972-KR - 2x6 pin)

* Silverstone Fortress FT03-MINI

* Silverstone SFX 450W Bronze (300W should be enough but I might build a PC with this hardware)

* Paperclip trick

* Powered riser

* 500 GB S-ATA drive (for my Steam library)

* S-ATA to USB 3.0 adapter

I'm also interested in a coming up with a decent enclosure for my eGPU. I would also prefer a relatively small solution that I can pack with my luggage (preferably with carry-on) when I fly home for holidays, visiting friends, etc.. This way I can take my gaming computer with me - finding a spare monitor that I could use is usually not a problem.

I like the FT03-mini but it's considerably larger that the Silverstone's T004 concept eGPU case, which I think makes better use of internal space for the GPU and PSU:

post-28168-14494998491416_thumb.jpg

The top compartment is redundant so the case could be shorter while keeping a similar footprint.

Whenever I get the bandwidth, I would like to design something similar to the T004 that I could to whip together in a hacker space - perhaps a laser cut acrylic case or a generic extruded aluminum enclosure with some mods (drilled holes for ventilation, custom machined end plates to support GPU, PSU and a fan).

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I'm also interested in a coming up with a decent enclosure for my eGPU. I would also prefer a relatively small solution that I can pack with my luggage (preferably in carry-on) when I fly home for holidays, visiting friends, etc.. This way I can take my gaming computer with me - finding a spare monitor that I could use is usually not a problem.

I like the FT03-mini but it's considerably larger that the Silverstone's T004 concept eGPU case, which I think makes better use of internal space for the GPU and PSU:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]12776[/ATTACH]

Whenever I get the bandwidth, I would like to design something similar to the T004 that I could to whip together in a hacker space - perhaps a laser cut acrylic case or a generic extruded aluminum enclosure with some mods (drilled holes for ventilation, custom machined end plates to support GPU, PSU and a fan).

Keep your eye on what jacobsson and Slovedon are doing (snapshot). They're looking to fit a Zotac GTX970 into a stock AKiTiO Thunder2 enclosure powered by either a 150W (smallish) or 220W Dell DA-2 portable PSU.

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Keep your eye on what jacobsson and Slovedon are doing (snapshot). They're looking to fit a Zotac GTX970 into a stock AKiTiO Thunder2 enclosure powered by either a 150W (smallish) or 220W Dell DA-2 portable PSU.

Will do! I'm thinking in the same lines of re-using the AKiTiO Thunder2 enclosure but there are a few issues with this approach:

  • Very limited room to fit extra cables/molex adapters
  • Not tall enough to accomodate PCIe 6/8pin connections to the GPU (1-2 mm above the inner metal bracket)
  • Inadequate ventilation - the outer case has to be drilled to provide ventilation otherwise air flow is constrained by the small stock fan and the circular cutout on the inner case (it could still be fine for Maxwell cards but other GPUs may overheat)
  • Mid-size GPUs can fit on the inner case provided that the fan is removed/mounted outside or by bending/cutting the front bracket like (but then the outer case will be too short to enclose the GPU)

All of these problems can be solved by replacing the outer case/cover with one both longer (2+ cm) and taller (1-2 cm), with a vent on the GPU side. The original end plates could be replaced by custom ones to close the gaps and maybe provide extra functionality (i.e. separate barrel connector for a Dell DA-2/other PSU, power switch, fan and LED mounts).

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Are you running this off of the 220W DA-2 PSU? If so, have you tried using a higher wattage ATX PSU?

Yes, I also got a 460W PSU from a Dell server but with the same result. I got my card replaced yesterday and the new card is equally problematic. I tested with new memory modules, no change. I really think it's NVIDIA's drivers that is the problem.

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All of these problems can be solved by replacing the outer case/cover with one both longer (2+ cm) and taller (1-2 cm), with a vent on the GPU side. The original end plates could be replaced by custom ones to close the gaps and maybe provide extra functionality (i.e. separate barrel connector for a Dell DA-2/other PSU, power switch, fan and LED mounts).

They can also be fixed by not using the outer enclosure altogether :) That's my plan at least. I'll just use the outer enclosure for protecting the GPU while transporting it, since it slides in very easily, even with the slightly bent back plate to accommodate GPU length.

- - - Updated - - -

@jacobsson That's disappointing to hear. I'll be able to test and compare on my setup soon though. The TB mobo should be here in a week

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Hello everyone,

I´ve failed with my implementation. I´ve tried with these components:

Macbookpro retina 15" early 2013 with geforce 650m

MSI Geforce 970 gaming

Akitio Thunder2

Corsair cx600m PSU

Powered raiser

The thing is that Windows 8.1 recognize the card as a default video card. Seems like it doesn´t find an appropiate driver.

post-29382-14494998494893_thumb.jpg

And in OS, after installing Cuda, adding the lines to the 3 kext files and reseting the caches, it crashes at the beginning.

I don´t know if it is possible to do something else.

Can anyone throw some light here.

Thank you very much.

post-29382-1449499849466_thumb.jpg

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Alright! I got all my parts, made a quick set up and everything seems to work! :D

My setup:

- Macbook Pro (2014 - nVidia 750m)

- Akitio Thunder2

- Powered Riser

- Gigabyte GTX770 4Gb

- Corsair RM450 (this is the only PSU, Akitio PSU is not necessary)

Installation was simple enough:

- Connect MacBook and Akitio

- Turn on Akitio

- Turn on MacBook

- Install nVidia drivers

- Et voila, shit works! :D

I would like to thank this entire community for their extensive knowledge base and help!

If I can provide any further info or help, just ask. :)

EDIT:

3D Mark11: P9103

Uniengine heaven: 1097 (whatever that means)

post-26812-14494998495168_thumb.png

post-26812-14494998497_thumb.jpg

post-26812-14494998497412_thumb.png

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- - -

@jacobsson That's disappointing to hear. I'll be able to test and compare on my setup soon though. The TB mobo should be here in a week

I've now got my self a 500W (3 x 12V@18A) ATX PSU for testing, everything runs smoothly now, tested Metro:LL for ~45min, no problem there.

Sooooo, what's up with the DA-2?

I suspect there is some kind of voltage drop of the DA-2 during turbo-boost on the GTX970, would some capacitors be able to smooth things out in the 12V lines maybe?

I'm still determined that the DA-2 will be my main power source for the Akitio so now it's just a matter of troubleshooting.

I'm thankful for any suggestions how to fix the voltage drop!

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They can also be fixed by not using the outer enclosure altogether :) That's my plan at least. I'll just use the outer enclosure for protecting the GPU while transporting it, since it slides in very easily, even with the slightly bent back plate to accommodate GPU length.

True but then it's not really enclosed - I'd rather not leave the GPU or inner wiring exposed. The AKiTiO inner case already does a good job at supporting the GPU and TB card so it shouldn't be too difficult or expensive to come up with a new outer shell that fits similarly to AKiTiO's but with extra room to fully enclose a longer GPU with extra wiring.

I'll try to draw up something in CAD in the next few weeks. Then I'll start with trying to source a simple box from enclosure makers like Protocase. There's a laser cutter I could use at work to make some custom acrylic end plates.

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Just finished my transition from PE4L to Akitio TB2 implementations, everything is pretty much plug and play but internal LCD is not working no matter how I tried (had it working with PE4L + Sonnet Echo ExpressCard).

Setup:

rMBP13" 2013

Asus GTX 660

Riser with powered molex.

Benchmark comparision:

PE4L (x1.1): NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 video card benchmark result - Intel Core i5-4288U,Apple Inc. Mac-189A3D4F975D5FFC

Akitio (x4 2.0): NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 video card benchmark result - Intel Core i5-4288U,Apple Inc. Mac-189A3D4F975D5FFC

post-27527-14494998497802_thumb.jpg

post-27527-1449499850202_thumb.jpg

post-27527-14494998506058_thumb.jpg

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anyone had problems with optimus tried my workaround?

Pulled out the cable (yellow black) connecting akitio thunderbolt board and akito 16x board. (thunderbolt cable plugged in)

Started mac with alt and waited in boot options.

Started akitio with powered riser. (no akitio adapter)

When waiting in boot options I plugged the cable (yellow black cable on the akitio board) and boot in windows.

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@linh1987, please try fixes below to enable Optimus support.

anyone had problems with optimus tried my workaround?

Pulled out the cable (yellow black) connecting akitiothunderbolt board and akito 16x board. (thunderbolt cable plugged in)

Started mac with alt and waited in boot options.

Started akitiowith powered riser. (no akitioadapter)

When waiting in boot options I plugged the cable (yellow black cable on the akitioboard) and boot in windows.

From http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/6918-updated-2013-13-15-macbook-pro-thunderbolt-2-egpu-plug-play-optimus.html#post94929

Requirements for Thunderbolt 2 plug and play and out-of-the-box Optimus internal display support:

- 2013 13" or 15" MacBook Pro w/Iris-only graphics *15" models with discrete graphics do not work

- Sonnet SEL (w/x16 riser) or possibly Sonnet SE II (unconfirmed). *Sonnet III-D does not work

- EVGA GPUs (confirmed) or other internally power-controlled card. MSI is confirmed to not enable Optimus out-of-the-box *See below

- External PSU for 8-pin and/or 6-pin auxiliary power (Corsair RM450 recommended for it's silent feature. Also compact and fully modular)

Follow these steps:

1. Shutdown MacBook (not a restart)

2. Plug or re-plug eGPU into Thunderbolt port

3. Boot into Windows (confirmed with 8.1 only). Optimus should work every time

*If it fails and screen is black, boot with eGPU disconnected, shutdown from Windows menu, reconnect eGPU, try again.

*MSI and likely other manufacturer's cards remain partially powered from auxiliary power (fan always spinning) and will not enable Optimus without these specific steps.

Provided by @Relentless (confirmed with MSI 760 + Sonnet SE II):

1. Shutdown Macbook (not a restart)

2. Power off Sonnet (I actually pull the power out of the unit). This seems to reset the state of the chassis board

3. Switch off power supply to GPU

4. Power on Sonnet and plug in Thunderbolt cable

5. Power on MacBook holding alt/option key to reach OS selection

6. When startup chime is heard, switch on power supply

7. Boot into Windows

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